It is known, in particular for so-called block treads, but also for treads having a relatively large proportion of tread blocks with a surface radius based on the tire diameter or the mould radius, that irregular wear in the form of heel and toe wear frequently occurs. This heel and toe wear can occur in a particularly severe manner in treads used on the driven axles of trucks. While known tread block designs having correspondingly sharp tread block edges produce good grip values, loud rolling noise has to be accepted in addition to the disadvantage or irregular wear, and the small compression zone occurring at the relevant tread block leads to high contact pressure and to tread deformation in the leading edge, which can, in turn, result in higher flexing work, an increase in temperature, unstable rolling and a lower service life.
It is already known from EP 0 895 876 A2 to reduce these disadvantages by designing the corner regions of the tread blocks in a chamfered manner and thus to reduce the tread block height in the corner regions. While this measure can provide certain improvements, it does not solve the problems listed above to the required extent.
It is the object of the present invention to provide in a vehicle pneumatic tire having a profiled tread, and tread blocks in at least some regions of its circumference, a tread block design which avoids irregular wear in the form of heel and toe wear, leads to a substantial reduction in rolling noise, reduces the rolling resistance and increases the service life and so the running performance of the tire.